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After 6 years under the iron fist of Beast, Smilin’ Matt now heads up Mrs. Beast’s 2016 squad of all-stars

Now that the 2016 draft has been completed, we here at Spreadsheet Fantasy have mulled over the picks and graded each manager based on how they did. Please note these grades do not include keepers, as there are no letters high enough to cover Jordan Spieth and Jason Day being on the same team.

Mrs. Beast(A): After keeping an eye on the league since it’s inception in 2010, Mrs. Beast has apparently picked up on all the tricks of the trade. In just her first draft, she’s put together a solid team, drafting like a seasoned pro. The 1st overall pick of ever-consistent Matt Kuchar gives her a great base to build off of, with workhorses like Mark Leishman and David Hearn good bets to perform in the Tier Ones where her top guns may not play. There are a few question marks as to whether Louis “Oosterhoozen” can stay healthy, and Webb Simpson can adjust to the new putting restrictions, but despite those question marks, she still earns an A.

Lawrence(B+): He couldn’t make it to the draft in person, but we still got to see his face in 60 inches of glorious HD. Drafting over Skype, Lawrence did his homework and scored the best looking team in his five years of Spreadsheet Fantasy golf. Never one to miss out on International Talent, Lawrence loaded up on the Euros electing to take Sergio Garcia and Branden Grace in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, while others were loading up on American grinders. Brooks Koepka, Gary Woodland, and Cameron Tringale should serve him well as work-horses in between the big tournaments, and his International talent is a force to be reckoned with.

Phil Mickelson’s reaction to the news that he was drafted by Brent

Brent(B): If there’s one way to describe Brent’s 2016 draft strategy, it’s ballsy. Nearly everyone of his players is coming off a disappointing season in 2015, but that strategy does have it’s positives. Brent’s drafting of players with some significant question marks allowed him to get them at discount prices. Just last year Keegan Bradley was a keeper on Lawerence’s squad, yet he fell to Brent all the way in the seventh round. Billy Horschel is just one year removed from a season in which he won twice and captured the FedEx Cup, but Brent got him in the fifth. Phil Mickelson and Graeme Delaet also experienced a disappointing 2015, but have the potential to light up the scoreboard. There’s no doubt that some of his picks will flame out *cough* Luke Donald *cough*, but he’s loaded his team with talented guys, and the odds are in his favor that at least a few of them will reclaim their former glory.

James(B): After losing 2nd place to Daniel in the last week of the 2015 season, James came into 2016 hungry to hold that Richard J. Osicki Memorial Trophy again. Rostering only four Americans last season, James upped that total to six this year, hoping for better performances in tier one tournaments, a category he finished ahead of only Lawrence in for the 2015 season. Young talent like Morgan Hoffmann and Patrick Rodgers, paired with more experienced golfers like Casey and Scott should provide a great balance for a team that is looking to retake the trophy from his old man.

Beast(C+): Speaking of the defending champion, Beast sauntered into the draft like a man without a care in the world, list in hand. Given that Jordan Spieth and Jason Day alone would have netted him 3rd place last year, Beast has every right to be cocky. It wasn’t a great draft for the league elder (though he probably didn’t need it to be). His first two picks of Brandt Snedeker and Jim Furyk should pan out nicely, but after that things went downhill pretty quickly. He should have no problem fielding a full roster in Tier Ones, given his excessive number of grinders, but his top four should carry him whenever they play, and despite a questionable lower half, Beast is clearly the favorite in 2016.

Daniel(C+): It wasn’t a great draft for the three who couldn’t attend, but Daniel came out with the best result, with his picks based on the 2015 money list. At first glance his draft doesn’t seem that great, but he wound up with some pretty sneaky picks. Charley Hoffman and J.B. Holmes may not be the sexiest names, but they both performed well for him last year and tee it up in plenty of tournaments. Tony Finau was a great sixth round pick, carding 16 top-25 finishes last year and poised for an even bigger breakout in 2016. Daniel’s squad is a grinder’s dream and should get off to a great start through the first stretch of the season.

Tiger Woods at Bryce’s 2016 team photo shoot

Bryce(C): Family obligations kept Bryce away from the draft, but he still managed to draft a decent team. Much like Brent’s posse, Bryce ended up with a good number of players coming off disappointing seasons, perhaps none more so than an 8th round flier named Eldrick Woods. Hunter Mahan and Graeme McDowell are also looking to bounce back from their worst seasons in a long time. Bryce did manage to score some good young talent in Justin Thomas and Russell Henley, who fit nicely with his All-American themed squad. He’ll look to improve on a fourth place finish in 2015.

Jarret(C): Jarret also couldn’t make the draft this year, providing a list for Brent. Coming off a rough debut season, Jarret is looking to improve this year with a talented young team. He team may not jump off the page, but Jarret seems to have drafted a young consistent team that will play a lot and give him plenty of chances to post some solid scores. His final three picks of Lee Westwood, Nick Watney, and Jason Dufner all have something to prove this year, and have all performed at a very high level in the past. If those three can reclaim some magic, Jarret should have a great year.

After the completion of the season’s first quarter, Bryce and Beast are separating themselves from the pack

After nine weeks of Spreadsheet Fantasy golf, it’s clear who the teams to beat are. Carding 6 of the league’s 7 wins, Bryce and Beast are on fire, with Bryce on pace for 16 wins, and Beast looking like a good bet to surpass 50 top tens. This week was Beast’s turn to take the top spot, with Jordan Spieth sinking a monster 30-foot putt on the third playoff hole to capture the Valspar Championship. Patrick Reed shrugged of allegations of cheating throughout his collegiate career, to take second place in the playoff, his second top ten finish in three weeks. Lets take a look at how the teams did.

For the fourth time this year, Beast had the highest total of the week, largely on the back of his win from Jordan Spieth. The win is Spieth’s fourth top ten in six starts, and with Beast’s top four averaging more than 30 points a start, it’s not hard to see why he’s winning. This week was a bit of an off week for Matt Kuchar and Jim Furyk, both of whom failed to crack the top 25, but Harris English made up for it with a top ten, his third of the season. Beast and Bryce will likely continue to go back and forth throughout the season as the early favorites to take home the Richard J. Osicki Memorial Trophy (provided Brent didn’t accidentally throw it out.

Brent reacts to Patrick Reed’s putt to make the playoff

After starting the season off slowly, Brent has showed up in a major way over the last three weeks, averaging over 100 points a week. Patrick Reed’s 2nd place finish this week racked up 50 points, and Charles Howell III quietly snuck into the top 10 for another 25 points. Lee Westwood has had a decent start to the season, landing in the top 25 again this week. Though he’s a good ways back of the top two, Brent’s team boasts some impressive potential with Adam Scott and Patrick Reed, and it’s clear he can string together a number of good weeks.

Lawerence’s aggressive management style and blatant abuse of his players has come under fire in recent weeks

After a horrendous start to the season, averaging less than 20 points a week through week 7, Lawerence has put together a couple of good weeks in a row, mainly thanks to the performance of Henrik Stenson and *record scratch* Kevin Na?? The two have carded 145 in just the last two weeks, and both appear in top form. They’ll need to keep that momentum going, as ‘Big Train’s’ bottom five players have combined for just 45 points.

The mild-mannered Jarret is satisfied with his team’s performance so far

Jarret has been relatively quiet after Jimmy Walker’s win to start off the season, but the league’s newest member has a team that can come up big. Hunter Mahan and Billy Horshcel have been in poor form so far, but both have the ability to win it any given week. Ryan Moore had a chance to win on Sunday, but settled for a top five, his second in the last two weeks, while Ian Poulter added another ten points.

Daniel’s three best weeks have come when Bubba Watson tees it up, and that didn’t happen this week. Despite managing just 40 points, Daniel’s team has been remarkably consistent this year, scoring at least 35 every week. Jason Kokrak was a surprise top ten this week, but Daniel will take it as he tries to keep pace with the leaders.

Daniel and James pass out apples at a Spreadsheet Fantasy charity event

Relying on the likes of Cameron Tringale and weird skinny Dufner, this was never going to be a very good week for James. However, both managed to sneak their way into the top 20, holding up the fort in a week where most of James’ team was probably relaxing on the beach. Next week will be much more promising, with McIlroy on the course again.

Bryce’s team seems to be the definition of boom-or-bust so far in the 2015 season. When things are good, Bryce puts up well over 100 points, including a monster 230 last week, but when they’re bad, he barely scores at all. This week’s goose-egg continues that theme, as he has four weeks with less than 30 points. Still locked in a duel with Beast, Bryce will look forward to fielding a better roster next week.

Jason Day outlasted Scott Stallings, Harris English and J.B. Holmes in a four man playoff to capture the Farmers Insurance Open

Another week, another solid performance by a Beast team that want’s to differentiate itself early on. After four weeks of golf, Beast is off to easily his best start of his six year Spreadsheet Fantasy career. Averaging more than 100 points a week, and with an impressive seven top tens, Beast is looking to make up for a crushing defeat late last season. This week’s big performer was Jason Day, who has shown flashes of brilliance over his tenure with Beast’s squad. He has yet to put together the monster year people have predicted from him, but with a win in just the fourth week of the season, he’s off to an excellent start in 2015.

If you don’t know who the highest scoring team was this week, you probably skipped that whole first paragraph. For the second time in four weeks, Beast carded the top total of the week, mainly thanks to Jason Day’s victory and Harris English’s runner up finish. The week could have been even better for the elder-statesman had he not left past-champion Nick Watney’s top ten on the bench. Off to his best start ever, and with a star-studded roster, Beast looks like the team to beat in 2015.

Sad Holmes

After another solid week, Daniel finds himself sitting in third place. While he’s in a good position so far, the theme of the first four weeks for Daniel is what could have been. For the third week in a row, one of his players found himself runner-up. This weeks unlucky second went to J.B. Holmes, who made bogey on the second playoff hole to lose the championship. Daniel’s still in a good spot, but he’ll need his players to start making the most of their chances if he wants to improve on last year’s third place finish.

Third place this week goes to Jarret, who’s unassuming presence allows his team to put up good numbers without the pressure that a flamboyant Brent or Lawrence would put on their team. Jimmy Walker finished in the top ten in his first start since his week one win in Hawaii, and after his breakout season last year, he looks as good or better so far in 2015. In his three starts so far, Billy Horschel has been a bit disappointing, missing the cut this week, while Ian Poulter hung around the top 25 in his first start of the year.

With just two players teeing it up this week, Brent will no doubt be happy with his 40 point total, thanks to a top ten by Charles Howell III. Brent has strung together four solid weeks so far, and that’s without any help from his Aussie superstar Adam Scott, who has yet to play a tournament. Sitting in the middle of the pack, Brent is off to a good start.

This week wasn’t a pretty one for Tiger Woods

For the first time in Spreadsheet Fantasy, Tiger Woods found himself riding the pine at the start of a PGA Tournament, as Bryce elected not to play the disheveled former superstar. It turned out to be a good decision, as Woods withdrew just halfway through the first round. Nine players took to the course for Bryce, making picking a roster quite difficult. He did admirably though, notching two top 25s and two top 50s for a 30 point week.

Another week, another 15 point total for the league’s most boisterous member. Keegan Bradley, John Senden and Brian Harman each finished up in the top 50, to give Lawrence another 15 point week. ‘Big Train’ has arguably his most talented team ever, so his 55 point total after four weeks is certainly disappointing. His top Europeans will need to play well in their limited starts if he hopes to contend this year.

There’s not much to say about the disgrace that is James’ team so far. Disappointing play from Mickelson, Fowler and Matsuyama were the theme of this week, leading James to believe he may have held onto ‘Phil the thrill’ for one year too many. Rory McIlroy will need to carry this team on his back if it’s to contend this year.

It was remarkably hard to find a picture of Jimmy Walker at the Sony Open in Hawaii, so please enjoy this promotional photo of Reginald VelJohnson and Jaleel White from the classic sitcom, Family Matters

You have to go all the way back to 2010 to find the last time a Spreadsheet Fantasy manager won their first start, when Dustin Johnson captured the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, giving Bryce the first win in SSF history. This week, Jarret accomplished the same fate for his team, as Jimmy Walker captured the Sony Open in Hawaii. Walker, who seems to enjoy playing in Hawaii, successfully defended his title one week after finishing runner up at Kapalua. Former Waialae champion Russell Henley snuck into the top 25, giving Jarret a first week total of 110. Jarret takes over for Fuchs, who often started strong, but faded down the stretch. We’ll see whether Jarret’s team can keep the momentum up over the entire 36 win season and contend in his first year.

Matt Kuchar ALMOST stopped smiling when told that Beast left him on the bench

The other team of note this week was that of Beast, who despite not submitting a roster, still managed to card 140 points. Scott Piercy’s second place finish and Harris English and Gary Woodland’s thirds gave Beast a monster opening week, despite leaving another third place finish on the bench in Matt Kuchar. Could this finally be the year that Beast breaks through and captures the trophy after a number of close calls? Time will tell.

As for the rest of the league, none of the other five members managed to register a top ten, though Daniel and Brent did rack up 35 points each. Lawrence managed 15, while James and Bryce started the year off with 10 and 5 respectively. Best of luck to all of you in the coming season and here’s to another great year of Spreadsheet Fantasy golf!

With his win at the Bridgestone Invitational, Rory McIlroy is back atop the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time since 2012

It didn’t take long for Rory McIlroy to follow up his first PGA Tour win since 2012 with another. After claiming the Open Championship just two weeks ago, McIlroy once again bested Sergio Garcia by two shots to claim the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational. With the win, McIlroy reclaims the World #1 ranking, and becomes the highest scoring SSF player of 2014. It wasn’t just McIlroy who had a good week though. The league racked up nearly 1000 points this week, as all but three of the top 25 players were owned. With Beast’s team failing to muster much of anything this week, Daniel, Brent, and James all gained ground on the leader, who’s lead has dwindled to just 20 points. Let’s take a look at the team-by-team breakdown.

After what can only be described as a pitiful start to the season, James’ team has bounced back in the last few weeks with a pair of wins and nearly 600 points. With 350 of those points coming courtesy of McIlroy and another 135 from Rickie Fowler, James’ problems with depth are still there. Phil Mickelson has yet to card a top ten this SEASON, but his T15 this week was his eighth top 20. Henrik Stenson’s managed a top 25, but his stellar form from 2013 has been MIA this year, and he isn’t making enough starts to really contribute much. Webb Simpson has also been somewhat of a disappointment, scoring 10 points this week to bring him up to just 200 for the year. After a pair of exceptional weeks, James finds himself back in the hunt for at least a podium spot, but his team will need to keep up their torrid pace if he wants to become a four time Champion.

With four top tens this week, Brent couldn’t help but smile

It was about this time last year that Brent absolutely went off on the league, racking up 960 points in the final six weeks, to claim his first SSF title. This year he may have started the charge a week early. A third place finish from the surprisingly underrated Mark Leishman, top fives from Charl Schwartzel and Patrick Reed, and a top ten from Adam Scott contributed the bulk of Brent’s massive 215 point week. He’s less than 200 points back of first place, and riding a wave of momentum that started three weeks ago at the Open Championship. If he can come up with a win or two in the SSF playoffs, Beast better watch out.

Despite having now set the record for most 0-point weeks, it’s been a wildly successful rookie campaign for Daniel. Though Lee Westwood has struggled, first overall pick Sergio Garcia has more than picked up the slack, averaging 42 points a week, second only to McIlroy. It becomes more amazing when you realize that he has done so without a win. His second place finish this week was his third straight runner-up, and sixth top five this year. Justin Rose added to his successful campaign with a top five finish, and Ryan Moore tread water to remain in the top ten. Daniel gained big on Beast this week, and sits a mere 20 points back of the leader.

After Martin Kaymer’s big win at the U.S. Open, Lawrence appeared poised to make a charge up the leaderboard, however limited rosters the next four weeks killed his momentum and he still finds himself in the basement. There is hope though, as Fuchs has stopped submitting rosters, and Bryce’s team is enveloped in controversy. Keegan Bradley appears to have recovered from his poor start to the year, recording a top five this week, while Graeme McDowell has been on fire recently, recording his third straight top ten. A position on the podium sadly appears out of reach for Lare-bear, and so he will begin the rebuilding process for next year.

After gaining pulling away from everyone with 105 points at the Canadian Open, Beast fell back down to earth this week, managing just 70 points, and losing ground to the other three contenders. Matt Kuchar and Jim Furyk couldn’t turn their top 15’s into top tens, and Jordan Spieth continued his slump with just a top 50. Jason Day hasn’t been the same since his thumb injury early in the year, and he was forced to withdraw once again this week. Beast is still the team to beat, but with just one win from Kuchar, Furyk, and Spieth, one has to wonder if he can keep counting on wins from his depth players.

Ever since Fuchs stopped submitting rosters, his team has become pretty stagnant. This week was another disappointing one, with just one top 15 from Hunter Mahan. He’s quickly tumbling down the leaderboard and could find himself passed by his arch-nemesis Lawrence if he doesn’t makes something happen soon.

If there’s a better example of bad things happening to good people than Bryce’s team, I have yet to see it. The league’s least controversial member finds himself embroiled in controversy this week, as Tiger’s back is injured once again, and Dustin Johnson is forced to deny allegations that he’s been suspended for cocaine use! Though Bryce has yet to comment on the allegations, he must be incredibly disappointed in his two golden geese. After a mere 35 points, Bryce is just 45 points ahead of last place, and he hasn’t topped 100 points since the beginning of March. If there’s one thing that Bryce has going for him, it’s that he still has three Konkel Explosions which he can hopefully move for some draft picks. Either way it’s going to be an uphill climb to get back on the podium next year.

Martin Kaymer lapped the field, capturing the U.S. Open by a record-tying 8 strokes

OK folks….not sure how I got finagled (my new word of the day)by my dear son into writing the U.S. Open at Pinehurst #2 golf wrap-up, but here it goes.

Who is this Kaymer guy and where did he come from? He obviously deserved the win with -9 scorecard as he dominated the leaderboard all week. Kaymer played great golf and led from day one. I didn’t see anything I didn’t like about him – so kudos to Martin Kaymer on his great win. Nice Father’s Day gift to him – as was his Mother’s Day gift with his Player’s Championship win last month.A rare achievement in golfland.

Erik Compton showed he has what it takes to compete at the highest level, finishing T2 with Rickie Fowler

The real story of the tourney was WHO would place second. There were many golfers in contention and they see-sawed all week as they battled for the coveted second place. In the end, there were two respected golfers that won the fight with a tie. The brightly orange-clad young Rickie Fowler ended with a -1, which was 8 strokes behind the winner. Tied with Rickie was the heroic -1 finish for Erik Compton. What a highlight to watch this man, who has beat all odds to survive two heart transplants, and still be able to golf with the best in the world. The best part of his win and follow-up interview was the shock and delight he expressed when he was told by the interviewer that he could now play in the Masters Tournament. That was the icing on the cake for Erik.

Honourable Mention must go to Keegan Bradley for his 19 place comeback on Sunday to end in a tie for fourth place.

I wish I could expound on my personal favourites in golf – namely Mike Weir and Phil Mickelson (no laughing allowed), but they will have to wait for a future tournament to show what they’re made of.

Thank you for your patience in reading this old mom’s review of the great U.S. Open 2014!

Hideki Matsuyama won his first PGA Tour tournament on Sunday in a playoff over Kevin Na

It certainly wasn’t the most conventional ending to a PGA Tour tournament, but Sunday’s final round at the Memorial was one for the ages. After looking like a lock to take the trophy, Bubba Watson complete collapsed, bogeying 14 and shanking his tee shot into someone’s backyard before doubling 15, essentially taking him out of contention. After his win last week, Adam Scott looked primed to make it two in a row, but a string of three consecutive bogeys, including a horribly unlucky bounce off a flag stick ended his chances as well. Playing in the second to last group, Matsuyama looked in control of the tournament with everyone else fading, but a poor tee-shot on 16 found the water and he double bogeyed the par three. Still reeling from the double bogey, he failed to par the 17th as well, leaving him one back of the lead. Having teed off some two hours earlier, Kevin Na posted a scorching round of 8-under par, a round that he thought would be good for a top five. However after Matsuyama’s bogey on 17, Na found himself alone in the lead. Needing a birdie on 18 to match Na, Matsuyama immediately smashed his driver after what he thought was a bad shot, however the ball managed to find the fairway. An incredibly clutch second shot left him five feet for birdie and a playoff. After checking the break, Matsuyama drained the putt, becoming the only player ever to birdie the 18th at Muirfield Village in all four rounds. Sadly the playoff did not hold as much drama as the final round, as Na found the creek off the tee and never really recovered. A solid up and down from Matsuyama was good enough to take home the trophy and earn a handshake from the great Jack Nicklaus. Now lets take a look at how it played out in the Spreadsheet Fantasy realm.

As Rory McIlroy well knows, it can be tough to manage a career and a relationship, however it doesn’t appear like the married life has taken any toll on Daniel’s fantasy production. One week after tying the knot, Daniel’s team put up a monster 185 points, thanks to the efforts of Matsuyama and Watson. In addition to Matsuyama’s 125 and Bubba’s 50, Ryan Moore chipped in ten points of his own. Daniel now leads the league in every statistical category and finds himself alone in first place. Bubba Watson’s ridiculous season total of 560 points is more than 150 ahead of the next best player, and he shows no signs of slowing down.

Just one win. That’s all James was asking for, but he’ll have to wait at least another week for that illusive first triumph. While Kevin Na’s second place finish is good news for fans of James’ squad, Rory McIlroy’s second round collapse en route to a T15, and Phil Mickelson’s (T49) apparent legal troubles are cause for concern. The three-time league champion has never finished worse than third, so sitting in sixth place right now is uncharted territory, and his team will need to go on one heck of a hot streak for him to even start considering a podium finish.

After Adam Scott’s first win of the season last week, Brent had another good finish at the Memorial. Scott continued his hot streak with a top five finish, while Charl Schwartzel, who’s been sneaky consistent this year, held on to a top ten finish. Luke Donald, K.J. Choi and Mark Leishman all finished in the top fifty, as Brent continued to chug along in third place. Last year’s champ has had very few bad weeks this year, running arguably the most consistent team so far this season.

With Tiger sidelined since week nine, it’s been a bit of a rough season for Bryce’s team. It’s been quite a while since any of his players really came close to winning, and while his scores the last few weeks have been respectable, it feels as though his team is treading water right now. His main breadwinners this week were Chris Kirk and Bill Haas, who’s final round 68’s boosted them up to the top five and ten respectively. Dustin Johnson managed to crack the top fifty, but continued what has been a very disappointing season by his standards. Bryce finds himself stuck in the no man’s land between 4th and 6th and with the way the season is playing out, he could be there for a while.

It’s hard to imagine a team who’s keepers tee it up more than Beast’s, yet he was dethroned this week as he could only post a measly 45 points. Matt Kuchar managed to crack the top fifteen, while Jordan Spieth and Jim Furyk fell just one stroke short, settling for top 25’s. In his first action since the Masters, Jason Day looked good until a final round 74 dropped him into a tie for 37th. Don’t be surprised if Beast takes back the top spot within a couple of weeks, as his squad has historically performed well in the Majors.

It’s tough to get a read on Lawrence’s team. While Miguel Angel Jimenez has performed well so far this season, he’s only played three times. Combine that with the relatively light schedules of Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell and you get a team that doesn’t really see it’s top players tee it up that often. After Jason Dufner racked up his teams only points last week with a second place finish, it was a little more evenly distributed this time around. Both Dufner and Ernie Els cracked the top 25, while Keegan Bradley continued his disappointing 2014 campaign with just a top 50. Kaymer’s win a few weeks ago has him much closer to sixth place than James is comfortable with, but with many of his players struggling, it will be tough for Lawrence to take the next step.

We’ve seen it time and again. Fuchs’ squad starts the season strong, but begins to stumble once mid-season rolls around. This week he failed to submit a roster, costing him a valuable 30 points from Steve Stricker. His only horse this week was Billy Horschel, who tried to make up for it with a top 15 finish, but Fuchs is dropping further away from that top three, and closer to Bryce in fifth place.

That’s the wrap up for this week, Gents. Hope you enjoyed! Next week is the FedEx St. Jude Classic.